So I’m just gonna start off with saying I started this build before I ever found this forum (as evidenced by quite a few of the parts). I bought stuff after doing research on YouTube and Reddit for about a week… I have since learned that those may have been the two worst places I could have settled on for actually finding good information about ESK8. I know now that there are definitely some good creators but searching for them initially with no past knowledge it’s hard to sort out what’s good and what’s not. It has been quite eye opening regularly visiting here the past couple of months. This build started as something to go the last couple of miles from my partner’s job to mine, quickly became a bit unwieldy but I’m still happy with the direction I’m going with it now.
Let’s just get these things out of the way:
- I bought most of my shit from Mboards initially
- I also bought a TENKA
- I want to punch my past self in the face for being scared of forums
I’ve finally settled on something that I feel decently proud of and would like to give some perspective from someone who didn’t visit any sort of forums whatsoever before ESK8.
But first, the build, as well as it’s initial iterations. Current is listed first, bullets are past attempts:
Battery: Mboards 10s3p Samsung 40t pack
Motors: Mboards 180kv 6374 (Basically old version Flipsky I think)
- Switching to Flipsky BH 6368 soon
ESC: Stormcore 60D+,
- Originally TENKA
Remote: Flipsky VX2
Trucks/Mounts: BN 270 with idler mounts and adjustable baseplates
- Used Verreal DKP trucks
- Mboards 220 Trucks
- Waterborne Surfskate adapter
Wheels: Evolve 150mm AT
- Cloudwheels
Deck: TB40 V1
- Dusters Chill Flamingo Double Drop
Side note: I love switchblade style decks and really wished I would have done more planning to make this one work.
Enclosure: TB40 V1
- Mboards Enclosure XL
Accessories: Shredlights Night ops pack
Pictures:
Initial build layout with the Surfskate adapters
Wiring:
Shitty Shitty enclosure with no room for a socket:
First time everything was actually together and working:
Clearances on the Surfskate adapter, had to cut these bolts to make it work:
Switched to the Verreal DKP trucks and evolve wheels:
Wiring for the new deck:
Where we’re at now:
Need to solder MT60’s to the phase wires and shorten the motor wires a bit, overall things are going well.
Why I chose what I did:
I’m gonna try to semi-quickly go over why I initially chose the parts that I did and why I changed them to what they are now.
Everything Mboards:
- Why I bought it:
- I perceived it as cheap at the time, everything was in one place, they have good SEO so if you search for DIY ESK8 stuff they are generally in the top results as far as vendors go. They also have a youtube channel, which again, is where I did a lot of my research initially. Also forums were intimidating to me as someone who had never been on one and it was hard to find consolidated info so I defaulted to places where info was easy to digest.
- Why I changed it to what I have now:
- Shit kept fucking breaking. Motors are fine, work well, a bit overpriced. The enclosure is very bad. Some things that caused it to break are my fault and I know that, but that doesn’t change the fact that the only reason I did the thing that caused it to break (attempting to thermoform where the nylock nuts are to hold them in place) was because you can’t fit a wrench in where the nylocks are. This causes you to have to hold them in place with needle nose pliers while trying to screw them in from the other side of the deck with a screwdriver, which is a nightmare. According to an email with them it was previously shipped with threaded inserts that you were meant to install yourself, but they kept having people come back with issues installing them properly. They also said that there are mold changes in place to address the issues, but IMO they shouldn’t be shipping it out in the state that it is. Either ship it with the inserts the way it was designed or change to a new mold and scrap the old enclosures.
- Pics of shitty enclosure that I hate after I ripped everything out when I got the new deck:
Surfskate Adapter:
- Why I bought it: Mboards trucks didn’t have enough turning radius, thought this would help with that. Should have just bought different bushings.
- Why I changed it to what I have now: Wanted pneumatics for a smoother ride. Was a bit too wobbly in the front on uneven ground for my taste. Board was also wayyy too high off the ground for my liking.
TENKA:
- Why I bought it: Saw vids about it on youtube and it looked like a fine budget option, honestly I probably could still be using it but I had some issues with it where one motor would not spin up if I slowly pushed up the throttle from zero. Honestly I’m not sure if the issues I had were even due to the TENKA itself, I still think I may have just missed/misconfigured something in VESC tool.
- Why I changed it to what I have now: Public perception about the safety of the product as well as the issues I stated above.
Used Verreal DKP:
- Why I bought it: Came with Evolve AT tires/pulleys and I wanted to be able to turn but not as much as with the surfskate adapter. This seemed to be a good compromise.
- Why I changed it to what I have now: Started to get wobbly around ~25mph, didn’t like that at all. This was also using fairly stiff bushings for my weight.
Cloudwheels:
- Why I bought it: Thought that they would be a good compromise between regular urethane wheels and AT wheels.
- Why I changed it to what I have now: They were honestly alright on most roads but specifically the stretch that I needed to ride the most was not OK. Wayyy too bumpy for my liking.
This build is currently still in progress as you can see. I am taking my sweet time making sure everything is all sorted out properly and things are secured this time to (attempt) to mitigate downtime on the board. Also, since I am putting more time in I spent some time designing a 3D printed loopkey holder that goes in the riser area, really happy with how that turned out:
Probably going to keep designing some more small 3D printed things to give things a bit more fit and finish. Thinking of possibly adding a front mounted power button that goes into the negative space in the front riser. I’m happy with the parts that I have at the moment, aside from maybe the range on the battery but I have room to expand in this enclosure if I want to in the future.
Couple of quick questions regarding the build:
-
How do you guys generally hold down wires in the enclosure? Adhesive cable management clips? Natural cure silicone?
-
Anything look wrong with the build at the moment? I know the battery isn’t ideal being stiff and all but I’m trying to work with what I have. Got a lot of padding around it so hopefully that should mitigate issues. Looking for constructive feedback and trying to find things that I may have missed.
-
What type of epoxy do you use to seal up gaps in the enclosure? There was a pre-cut hole for what I assume is supposed to be a capacity gauge but I’m not gonna use it so I 3D printed a cover for it. What type of epoxy would you use to seal this? I have some 1hr set from JBweld as well as some JBweld Steel.
-
Any ideas for a name? I am completely stumped on this one.
There is quite a bit more to this hobby than I initially realized. In hindsight this should have been more obvious as we are basically making tiny electric cars but you live and you learn. There is so much that goes into making a safe and reliable DIY board that you can easily miss if you don’t do enough research. This forum has such a wealth of information and the community has been great while I’ve been here. There are obviously a few passionate people every once in a while but generally it looks like everyone is here just trying to build the best boards possible.
